Duties

Summary

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) manages the exploration and development of the nation's offshore resources. It seeks to appropriately balance economic development, energy independence, and environmental protection through oil and gas leases, renewable energy development and environmental reviews and studies. For information about our bureau go to: http://www.boem.gov/

This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Strategic Resources (OSR), Resource Evaluation Division (RED), Resource Evaluation Methodologies Branch in Sterling, VA.

The Resource Evaluation Division (RED) consists of a multi-disciplinary staff of geoscientists, engineers, and economists who provide guidance, analysis, technical support, and recommendations related to leasing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) lands for the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas, mineral and renewable energy sources. The RED contributes to the development and implementation of bureau-wide policies related to fair market value determination and bid adequacy, resource and reserve assessment and studies, and conservation of the public's mineral resources. The RED conducts national projects and interacts with other Federal and State Agencies, academia, national non-governmental organizations, trade associations and industry in addressing issues associated with the exploration, development, production and evaluation of OCS minerals and sources of renewable energy.

The incumbent serves as a staff lead within the Resource Evaluation Methodologies Branch (REMB) of the RED with the primary responsibility of leading a team of geoscientists, engineers and economists in the development of a new economic evaluation software package that will replace BOEM's legacy software used in determining the Fair Market Value (FMV) on OCS tracts receiving bids in lease sales.

At the full performance level (GS-14) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

Leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for developing new and innovative approaches to assessing Fair Market Value on OCS tracts using commercially available economic evaluation software.

Serves as principal authority within the REMB concerning exploration and development scenarios and cost estimates for offshore energy projects.

Works closely with regional counterparts to ensure the appropriate application of geologic, engineering and economic principles and techniques are incorporated into a new Fair Market Value model as well as other Bureau-wide resource assessment and cost estimation models.

Writes, coordinates, and provides direction for the preparation and publication of appropriate resource assessments, methodologies and other technical OCS reports.

Downloads and analyzes reserves, resource, and economic data from corporate databases and uses various database/software packages to identify trends, perform regression analysis, and/or generate data distributions used for input into Bureau-wide computer models or in support of ad-hoc requests and publications.

Organizes, conducts and/or represents BOEM in meetings and conferences relating to resource assessment and economic evaluation of OCS properties to maintain efficient communication between the RED and their internal and external customers.

BOEM has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Salary Range Information: GS-14: $117,191 - $152,352 per annum.

First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.

This vacancy is also announced as BOEM-MMCC-20-KS-001(DEU) for those applicants who wish to apply and be considered under Delegated Examining procedures.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - 1-5 nights per month may be required.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination
• You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.
• You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/ .

Security Clearance Required: You will be required to obtain and maintain a Public Trust Background Investigation if you are selected and hired for this position.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position you must meet the (1) Basic Educational Requirements AND (2) Specialized Experience for the series/grade to which you are applying.


(1) Basic Educational Requirements:


IMPORTANT NOTE: You must submit your transcripts to verify that you meet the educational requirement. Failure to provide transcripts will result in you receiving an "Ineligible" rating.

0110 Economist Minimum Education:

You must meet the description in either A or B below to qualify for this position.

A. Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

-

0881 Petroleum Engineer Minimum Education:

You must meet the description in either A or B below to qualify for this position.

A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

-OR-

B. Combination of Education and Experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

Professional registration

Written Test

Specified academic courses

Related curriculum

Additional information on each description may be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800/

-

1313 Geophysicist Minimum Education:

You must meet the description in either A or B below to qualify for this position.

A. Degree: that included at least 30 semester hours in mathematics (including calculus) and the physical sciences (geophysics, physics, engineering, geology, astronomy, meteorology, electronics, etc.).

-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience: courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.


-

1350 Geologist Minimum Education:

You must meet the description in either A or B below to qualify for this position.

A. Degree: geology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography.

-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience -- course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

-

In addition to the Basic Educational Requirements for this position, applicants must also meet the Specialized Experience Requirements described below:

(2) Specialized Experience (Must be equivalent to the next lower grade level for which you are advertising)

To qualify for the GS-14, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

Using and interpreting the latest technological advances in fair market value and economic models.

Analyzing and recommending solutions to difficult and complex problems concerning resource assessment, reservoir and petroleum engineering, geologic, economic and statistical data and/or risk analysis for the OSC tract evaluation program.

Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) preparing reports and or presentations.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Merit Promotion candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

Education: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Additional information

Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties.

The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.

Important Note: All Department of the Interior (DOI) employees are subject to the conflict of interest restrictions imposed upon all employees of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and may be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report. In addition, DOI employees, GS-15 and above, who work in the Office of the Secretary; along with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) employees (at ALL grade levels), are further restricted concerning their interests in Federal lands and resources administered or controlled by the Department of the Interior. This includes holding stock in energy corporations which lease Federal lands (e.g.: oil, gas, coal, alternative energy resources, etc.). If you have any such investments you should contact the DOI, BOEM or BSEE Ethics Office before accepting employment. DOI employees are held to the highest level of integrity. Employees must be objective and impartial in the performance of their work. All potential issues (e.g.: work-related interactions with friends, family members, or previous employers) must be disclosed at the time of application or during the interview process.

NOTICE: This employer participates in E-Verify and will utilize your Form I-9 information to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.

A preliminary background check must be completed before a new employee can begin work with the U.S. Department of the Interior. The preliminary background check consists of a search of Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense background investigation files and an FBI National Criminal History Fingerprint Check; it may take up to 3 weeks to complete. If selected for this position, you will be extended a tentative offer of employment pending a satisfactory background check. Current Federal employees or individuals with an existing completed background investigation may not be required to undergo another background check; these will be handled on a case-by-case basis in coordination with the Bureau security office.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

Your answers to the on-line assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

• Leadership: Ability to lead a multi-disciplinary team of geoscientists, engineers and economists in meeting milestones and deadlines pertaining to the potential and economic evaluation of resources present on the OCS. Ability to lead and work effectively as a member of a team of professionals from a variety of disciplines to complete technically challenging projects.
• Technical Knowledge: Knowledge of resource evaluation and appraisal techniques of energy resources on the OCS. Ability to serve as a senior technical expert on mission critical fair market value evaluation projects.
• Oral Communication: Ability to express information to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information.
• Written Communication: Ability to write in a clear, concise, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
• Planning and Evaluation: Ability to initiate plan and direct geologic/economic/engineering studies and analysis pertaining to OCS Minerals. Ability to analyze reserves, resources, and economic data from a database and use various databases/software packages to identify various data elements.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Your resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements as stated in this vacancy announcement and OPM qualification standards for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. It is strongly recommended that you use the USAJobs Resume Builder as it was designed to ensure that your resume includes the standard information needed. The Resume Builder is available at https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/How_to_create_your_resume

Your application package must include: (1) Resume showing relevant experience as written in your own words; (2) Completed online Assessment Questionnaire; (3) Your most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, tenure, and duty station; and a past SF-50 showing your highest Full Potential Level (FPL) position; (4) Certificates, license, etc. (if applicable); (5) Form DD-214 OR VA letter and Standard Form 15, if eligible under VEOA or VRA; (6) Proof of eligibility if applying under a special appointing authority;(7) Current or former Government employees are strongly encouraged to submit a recent performance appraisal.

NOTE: Applicants claiming eligibility under VEOA or VRA, must submit a copy of your DD-214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," (Member 4 copy is preferred), showing the dates of active duty, type of discharge, and character of service (must be honorable); OR acceptable proof of verification of your preference (i.e., official document, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying that the veterans total combined serviced-connected disability rating is 10% or more).

NOTE: Applicants claiming eligibility based on 30% or more service connected disability, you are required to submit documentation that is indicated on the SF-15 as acceptable proof of verification of your preference (i.e., official document, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying that the veterans total combined serviced-connected disability rating is 30% or more.

You will find additional information on the following topics: (1) e-Verify; (2) Selective Service; (3) CTAP/ICTAP; (4) Education - accreditation; (5) Foreign education; (6) Veterans preference; (7) Special appointing authority documentation; and more can be found on our web site: https://www.bsee.gov/careers/usajobs-assistance OR http://www.boem.gov/USAJobs-Assistance/ .

If you are claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, you must submit proof by the closing date of the announcement that you meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(a) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP or you will not receive priority consideration. The proof includes a copy of the agency notice, your most recent Performance Rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty station. To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, you must earn a minimum score of 85 or above (prior to the assignment of veteran's preference) on the rating criteria for this position.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.